Moroccan Teen Leads National Team to Victory in Global Debate Tournament

17 years old, but already endowed with an impressive oratory capacity. For the second consecutive year, Alia Kafil is elected best speaker of the international debate tournament. In Japan this year, her talent allowed the MNDT, also composed of Yanis Hodaibi and Elhassan Rhissassi, to steal the show from the other speakers. "In the first rounds, my teammates and I were stressed, but as the competition progressed, we felt more comfortable and confident in our skills," Alia assured.

Morocco won the competition with 6 wins out of 6, becoming the first Arab and African country to have won this competition and the first and only team to have won this tournament twice. The art of persuasion or public speaking is a passion that she became aware of at the age of 11. She joined her high school debate team from sixth grade and it was the beginning of a very beautiful adventure for her.

Talented, she joined the Moroccan national debate team in 2020, and this further strengthened her interest in oratory. In an interview with MAP, the young speaker said that debate has given her a clear idea of her studies and professional career. "Debate has also taught me that the world, social issues and politics are not one-dimensional, but rather complex and that there is so much more to learn on these subjects," she said.

She noted that the fact of debating always reminds her that each subject has so many perspectives to explore and so much to learn from it. Even if it is difficult for her to strike a balance between school and her passion for oratory, she stresses that she does not regret investing in it.

From her participation in the 7th PDA High School Parliamentary Debate World Congress, she has a good memory despite some difficulties. "The biggest challenge for us was to debate online at night and have to compete late at night (usually from 1am to 10am) since the competition was taking place in Japan. Before the competition, we also did research on current events and politics to stay up to date," she added.